Even when your phone is ringing off the hook, the people calling might not be the leads you need. Finding the right match requires qualifying leads fast and following up promptly with qualified prospects. That can create a major administrative burden and cut into billable time.
Tabs3 CRM can help. By automating aspects of your client relationships, you can sign more of the right clients with less work.
What is a CRM?
CRM stands for Client Relationship Management. A legal CRM can help your firm organize information, manage communication, and improve potential client relationships via centralized data storage and automation.
For example, a CRM might automate intake tasks like prescreening, consultation reminders, follow-ups, and engagement paperwork. CRMs can also boost intake collaboration within your office. They typically track all the contacts your office has with an individual, so anyone can see what has been done and which tasks remain.
Once a client has engaged your firm, a CRM that integrates with your practice management software can eliminate duplicative data entry.
CRMs help firms engage leads more efficiently
Managing relationships with leads begins the moment a potential client learns about your firm. The initial part of your intake workflow might look something like this:
Step 1: Be visible to potential clients
Many firms reach out to potential clients via multiple channels. For some, that means paid ads, like Google, Facebook, trade journals. For others, it might include bus benches and billboards. And no matter what your practice area is, a professional, engaging website is critical.
Tabs3 CRM can help you discover which channels are the most successful so you can iterate and improve your marketing. You can record lead sources or track them directly through an integration. For example, the software integrates with Tabs3 Websites, so website leads are automatically drawn into your intake workflow.
Step 2: Route inquiries appropriately
Whether you have dedicated intake staff or not, you need to get each lead to the right person at the right time. Tabs3 CRM can automatically route the leads to the right person, based on criteria you specify, or hold notifications when intake is unavailable. Routing inquiries correctly means fewer missed connections, so you can engage promising leads quickly.
Step 3: Pre-screen leads thoughtfully
A good pre-screening can save hours of wasted time. With Tabs3 CRM, you can create multiple digital intake forms for different types of cases or practice groups. Then you decide how to deploy them:
- Traditional phone screening, where you enter answers directly into the CRM. Screeners can initiate the call from Tabs3 CRM.
- Self-serve screening, where you send the lead a text or email with a link to the appropriate screening form. This allows you to make a preliminary representation decision before getting on the phone.
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Nurture leads effectively
Leads that are qualified by pre-screening continue moving through the intake process. The latter part of an intake process typically includes these steps.
Step 1: Stay top of mind
Sometimes a qualified lead is not ready to move forward with their matter. But in a busy office, important follow-up tasks can fall through the cracks. With Tabs3 CRM automations, however, you can create set-it-and-forget-it follow-up sequences, like text reminders or a series of emails (a “drip campaign”).
Templates and an intuitive interface make it easy to create sequences with no prior experience. You can customize the words and timing to fit your firm’s style, so your messages feel natural and personalized, while freeing you up to concentrate on other matters.
The tool also includes dashboards and reports so you can see how people are responding to your messages.
Step 2: Simplify consultations
It takes time to prepare for a consultation, and missed appointments cut into work time for attorneys and professional staff alike. Reduce no-shows with Tabs3 CRM’s automated reminders, delivered by text or email. Reminders can include information about cancellation and no-show policies to encourage timely rescheduling.
Tabs3 CRM also offers a shared calendar and personalized task lists to help your office keep track of consultations and other intake events.
If you gathered documents prior to or during the consultation process, Tabs3 CRM can store them for you. Any authorized user in your firm can quickly access the documents when needed, and the materials can be transferred into Tabs3’s PracticeMaster if the lead engages your firm.
Step 3: Secure the engagement
If you want to represent the potential client, it is critical to get engagement letters and other representation paperwork out as soon as possible. Tabs3 CRM makes it simple to send forms and gather electronic signatures.
You can use the software to create customized engagement letters and fee agreements, using an interface that looks similar to Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat. Simply import your existing forms, and with a few tweaks, you can create a firm-specific library of options tailored to your practice areas and your firm’s policies.
When sending a letter to a potential client, you can select a form and initiate the e-signature process in seconds. The lead receives a secure link that allows them to read and sign the documents electronically, and the signed document is automatically returned to your office.
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Shift seamlessly from prospect to client
If you choose to represent the client, you can move the new client’s information into PracticeMaster in just a few clicks. That means less repetitive data entry and more time for billable tasks. Your intake workflow transitions gracefully into your new client workflow.
From first contact to conversion, streamline your intake workflow with Tabs3 CRM
All law practices struggle to balance client work with administrative tasks. You can take charge of your intake workflow with Tabs3 CRM:
- Screen leads quickly with custom intelligent forms
- Integrate Tabs3 CRM with a Tabs3 Website
- Automate marketing with time-saving tools and templates
- Follow up with precision to convert more clients
Our expert trainers are ready to show you exactly how your practice can benefit. Sign up for your personalized demo today.
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